Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh once hilariously questioned Greg McElroy's love of football

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh lives and breathes football — literally, as relayed by former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy.

The current ESPN college football announcer, in his preview for the College Football Playoff national championship game, shared how he met Harbaugh at one of the coach's first appearances at Big Ten media days following his hiring by the Wolverines. When McElroy said he was happy to be in college football broadcasting — which allowed him to remain involved in the sport without the stringent time demands of being a coach — Harbaugh had a curious reaction.

He questioned McElroy's love for football:

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"He basically looked at me, and as dry and as direct as you can possibly be, and he said, 'Oh, you don't love football?'" McElroy said. "I'm like, 'No, I love football, I love it. I mean it, football's amazing, Coach. I work in football, I'm a broadcaster, but I work in football.'

"And he said, 'Well, no, no, no. You love football if you play football, and when you're done playing and you can no longer play, then you coach, and if you don't coach, then you die.'"

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Just as McElroy relayed, Harbaugh has devoted his life to the game of football. The latter has played and coached in college football and the NFL since 1982, when he began his collegiate career as a quarterback for the Wolverines. After his NFL career ended in 2001 with the Carolina Panthers, Harbaugh wasted no time in snagging a coaching position to stay around the game he so desperately loved, becoming the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders in 2002.

Following that, Harbaugh coached at San Diego from 2004-06; Stanford from 2007-10; the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14; and at Michigan since 2015. Based off his track record — and McElroy's story — it seems he has no plans to hang up his whistle any time soon.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Michigan's Jim Harbaugh questioned Greg Mcelroy's love of football